Facebook enters LinkedIn's jobs turf

Brian Womack

Facebook, in a challenge to LinkedIn, is rolling out an application that connects candidates with job vacancies and recruiters on the world's largest social network.

The new service claims more than 1.7 million jobs from partners including Monster Worldwide and BranchOut, the company said on its website Thursday. The online app follows Facebook's introduction of the Social Jobs Partnership last year with the US Department of Labor and other agencies.

Facebook, which has grown to more than 1 billion users, is expanding into new services and markets as it seeks to attract more users and keep them longer on its site. That is putting pressure on LinkedIn, a professional-networking site with 187 million users that has faced some growth concerns. One of LinkedIn's strengths is its popularity with job seekers and recruiters.

"Facebook is all about connecting people and we're thrilled to see developers leveraging our platform to connect job seekers and prospective employers," Marne Levine, Facebook's vice president for global public policy, said in a statement.

"By allowing job seekers to view and share job openings based on personalised criteria, like location and industry, the Social Jobs Application builds on our broader effort to help people use social media to find jobs in the US," Levine said.

Shares of Mountain View, California-based LinkedIn fell as much as 3.7 per cent after Facebook's announcement, and traded down less than 1 per cent to $US98.77 at the close in New York. Facebook shares rose 13 per cent to $US22.36.

The new app is a "central location" for recruiters to share job openings with Facebook users, the company said.